Empowering Entrepreneurs
Small businesses are the cornerstone of the global economy – when they thrive, communities thrive.
Through partnerships with government agencies, nonprofits and other stakeholders, The UPS Foundation trains small business owners on how to grow their businesses and reach customers around the globe.
We’re proud to partner with the International Trade Centre on their SheTrades program to enhance the competitiveness of small businesses around the globe through workshops, webinars, coaching and e-learning courses.
Our Women Exporters Program helps entrepreneurs trade across borders, overcome challenges and forge new futures by expanding their businesses to global markets. More than 148K women and small businesses have benefited from our resources and training since the program launched in 2018.
In 2025, our partnership with ITC SheTrades served 10.5K+ small business owners from 78 countries, predominantly from Africa, Asia and Latin America. Participants learned how to enhance their online presence, boost sales readiness, apply export strategies and leverage AI in their businesses.
- The result? 95.5% said they acquired new skills, and 92% reported plans to transform their business operations with these new learnings.
Mentoring the next generation
UPS and The UPS Foundation have partnered with Big Brothers Big Sisters of America (BBBSA) for more than four decades to drive economic mobility by expanding access to opportunities for young people across the U.S.
Since 1985, The UPS Foundation has given more than $8.2M to support mentoring and youth development across 57 BBBSA agencies. Combining our philanthropic investment with sustained volunteerism, UPSers work directly with youth by leading career exploration events, facility tours and hands‑on workshops. These activities help young people build transferable skills, explore career pathways and make clear plans for their future.
In 2024, we expanded our partnership with a multi‑year $1.7M investment in BBBSA’s Big Futures initiative. Big Futures is a career and college readiness model that combines mentoring with workforce exposure, skill‑ building and financial literacy.
Building on successful pilots in Atlanta, this investment will help expand Big Futures to Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, Philadelphia and St. Louis – with more locations coming this year.
Advancing economic mobility
The UPS Foundation promotes long-term economic stability by supporting organizations that create steady employment with essential benefits. These efforts help reduce financial disparities and improve health outcomes in underserved communities. In 2025, our partnerships helped 1.4K+ people around the world find full-time jobs with healthcare benefits.
For example, we invested $300K to support Goodwill Industries of Kentucky in generating meaningful employment opportunities. In 2025 alone, this funding helped create 400+ jobs in Louisville, all with employer-sponsored health insurance.